As we move into 2013, it’s the perfect occasion to look back over the 2012 season and recognize some of the more memorable performances and stories from the world of professional cycling. To give us a hand, we asked some of our experts to give out awards. Here’s what they decided.

RIDER OF THE YEAR

Frankie Andreu (team director, Tour Talk host): Peter SaganSagan showed incredible strength and speed all year from the start to the end. He came away with 16 wins, the green jersey, and three stages from the Tour de France. He won not only field sprints, but also races where the climbers were outclassed by the young Slovakian.

James Startt (Bicycling’s European correspondent): Tom Boonen
By winning a third Flanders and a fourth Roubaix, Tom Boonen proved himself to be the greatest rider in the history of the cobbled Classics: better than Rik Van Looy, better than Roger DeVlaeminck, better than Freddy Maertens, and yes, better than Merckx. It was “unprecedented” in a time where such words have become increasingly rare.

Joe Lindsey (Boulder Report, Bicycling contributor): Marianne Vos
Vos went to the Olympics and World Championships as the odds-on favorite and simply emerged as the strongest and smartest rider in the sport. Her win in London, on a technical course in the rain, was one of the most memorable for me from any discipline in years. She made every move she needed to, exactly when she needed to. Simply look at what the woman has done over the past 12 to 24 months: In 2011 and 2012 she won the overall, five stages and the points title at the biggest stage race for women (the Giro Donne); she is reigning World Champion in two very different disciplines (road and ‘cross); and she took the world track title for the scratch race in 2011. With those results, I think it's a convincing argument that there's not a better racer in the sport today, male or female.

Whit Yost (Bicycling race contributor): Bradley Wiggins
As a lover of the cobbled Classics, my heart wants to say Tom Boonen, but my head can’t deny that Bradley Wiggins had a better season overall. Winning the Tour de France as the overall favorite is no easy task, but it cannot be forgotten that Wiggins also won Paris-Nice, the Tour of Romandie, and the Criterium du Dauphine—three of the toughest and most prestigious weeklong stage races on the calendar. Wiggins also won gold in the men’s individual time trial at the Olympics a little more than a week after the Tour. Boonen’s cobbled win streak was terrific, but Wiggo’s consistency throughout the first two-thirds of the season is much more impressive.

Frankie Andreu: Tom Boonen, Paris-Roubaix
He took off solo 52km from the finish as numerous teams and riders completely collapsed in their chase after him. He dealt with the pressure of being the favorite and crushed everyone to take his fourth victory at this Monument.

Joe Lindsey: Alberto Contador, Stage 17, Tour of Spain
There are many layers to this pick. First, it was unexpected. Contador tried to drop Joaquim Rodriguez on several steeper stages in the Vuelta and failed. Stage 17, a medium mountain day, was not expected to affect the overall and most assumed that Rodriguez would defend his slim lead. Second, it was extremely well played. Contador went on the offensive early and hard, isolating Rodriguez and using other riders like Alejandro Valverde to help add pressure. Finally, you can make the case that Contador's win is both due to, and an indictment of, how the UCI ranks riders and teams. With big points on offer for high placings, riders race conservatively. But coming off a doping suspension, Contador couldn’t earn points. So, he had every incentive to ride aggressively for the win and take a chance—if he blew up, he wouldn’t lose much.

James Startt: Tom Boonen, Paris-Roubaix
Frankie and I agree! After winning the Tour of Flanders, Boonen had the weight of the world on his shoulders at Paris-Roubaix as he attempted to equal Roger DeVlaeminck's record of four wins in the most unpredictable race the sport of cycling has to offer. And with one of the most audacious breakaways the race has ever seen, he did it.

Whit Yost: Team Sky, Stage 7, Tour de France
I can’t stop thinking about Team Sky’s machine-like domination of the climb of La Planche des Belles Filles at the end of Stage 7 of the Tour de France. The first major summit finish of the race, Sky knew that this was the team’s opening chance to seize control of the race and position Bradley Wiggins near the top of the GC heading into the first individual time trial two days later. Sky absolutely obliterated the peloton on the Category 1 climb, sending many favorites out the back, and finished with the stage victory (Christopher Froome) and the yellow jersey (Wiggins). It was a true team effort and a show of force that hasn’t been seen in years.

Alexander Vinokourov capped his career with an Olympic gold. (Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images)

RACE OF THE YEAR

Frankie Andreu: Men’s Olympic Road Race
The crowds were amazing and the race played out the way no one had expected. All eyes were on Cavendish and as the break went up the road, the British team missed it. The chase went on forever but the front group was too large and the riders too motivated—they were never caught. The winner was a surprise and whoever had bet on Vinokourov I'm sure received good odds from the bookies.

Joe Lindsey: Giro d’Italia
The 2012 Giro d’Italia was undoubtedly the most difficult of the three Grand Tours, and produced a major surprise winner. But I give this to Ryder Hesjedal and Garmin because of the way they won: stealthily, steadily, and smartly. Ryder rode well in the first half of the race but was never considered a serious threat, which might have helped him in the end. By the time Rodriguez and the rest really woke up to him as a challenger, it was almost too late. It all culminated in the chess match on the Stelvio stage (another solid contender for race of the year, within the race). When De Gendt attacked, Hesjedal never panicked. He waited for Stetina and Vande Velde to come back and do the pacemaking, and was careful not to put himself in a situation where he would win Rodriguez's race for him. It was intelligent, tactical, suspenseful racing right up to the end.

James Startt: Tour of SpainSurely not the Tour de France. For me, the award goes to the Tour of Spain, where Alberto Contador was consistently out-climbed and out-time trialed—but never outwitted. Coming back after months of suspension, it was perhaps his greatest win to date.

Whit Yost: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
At this year’s Belgian season opener, Garmin-Barracuda’s Sep Vanmarcke found himself in a five-man breakaway with Tom Boonen, Juan Antonio Flecha, Matti Breschel, and Thor Hushovd. Unafraid of his decorated rivals, Vanmarcke accelerated to drop Breschel and Hushovd. He then attacked two more times on the road to the finish, yet still found an extra gear to outsprint Boonen for the win. Boonen would later atone for his mistake with wins in Flanders and Roubaix, but for one day, there was a new king in Belgium.

Christopher Froome became a star at the 2012 Tour de France. (James Startt)

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Frankie Andreu: Christopher Froome
If not for a chain problem in an early stage that caused him to lose time, Froome could have been the Tour de France winner. His performance in the mountains showed he was the strongest in the peloton but he never wavered in his support to help Bradley Wiggins win the race.

Joe Lindsey: The Twists of the Lance Armstrong Saga
Let's review the past year in the life of Lance Armstrong. At this time in 2011, he was still under federal criminal investigation. Persistent rumors spoke of indictments being handed down imminently. Instead, on Super Bowl weekend, the case was dropped without elaboration, leading many to think that Armstrong would forever leave the accusations of doping behind. Instead, in a few short months, USADA put together a strong case for a sporting sanction, beat back Armstrong's formidable legal team, won a convincing victory in federal court over jurisdiction, banned Armstrong and Michele Ferrari for life, and, in its Reasoned Decision, not only thoroughly demolished the Armstrong myth but shook the foundations of power at the UCI in a way no one ever has. Today, Armstrong has no sponsors to speak of, has zero role at the foundation he started, and is widely accepted not only to have cheated but to have also helped run a nefarious doping ring that stood at the far end of the spectrum of cheating in pro sports. If you envisioned this in early February, go buy me some lottery tickets.

James Startt: Christopher Froome
After a strong performance in the 2011 Tour of Spain, Team Sky’s Christopher Froome showed his true potential. But to confirm such potential in such a convincing and consistent manner throughout the three-week Tour de France was very impressive indeed.

Whit Yost: Maxim Iglinksy Winning Liege-Bastogne-Liege
Don’t get me wrong: Astana’s Maxim Iglinsky is a talented rider who has won tough races in the past. But Liege-Bastogne-Liege? I didn’t see that one coming. At all.

Frankie Andreu: Where was Thor?
After two fantastic seasons, BMC’s Thor Hushovd spent 2012 sidelined by a viral infection. After winning three stages in the 2011 Tour de France and a World Championship in 2010, Thor’s top results in 2012 were 5th in Stage 7 at Paris-Nice and 6th in Stage 3 of the Giro d’Italia.

Joe Lindsey: RadioShleck's Collapse
It wasn't exactly a shock that the marriage of the Schlecks and Johan Bruyneel wouldn't pan out, but the speed and severity of the collapse was surprising. To sum up, RadioShack-Nissan began the year with a stacked roster and another Tour de France podium in its sights. By the end of the season, the team's general manager, Johan Bruyneel, had been sacked for doping; Fabian Cancellara had missed the Classics with a broken collarbone; Andy Schleck spent the year DNF'ing and out of shape; his brother Frank was the Tour de France's lone positive doping test; its biggest Plan B option for GC (Jakob Fuglsang) had an ugly, public feud with management (despite having won twice as many stage races in 2012 as Andy has in his entire career). The lone highlight was Cancellara's Tour prologue win and week in yellow. As it stands, RadioShack was the most disappointing pro-cycling collapse in years.

James Startt: Truth and Consequences at Team Sky
Team Sky asked their riders and staff to tell the truth about whether they doped in the past. Then they fired or released those who did—an immature decision for a team that sets itself out to be a model for the sport. Especially in this transition period, many observers believe a zero-tolerance policy isn't going to promote a cleaner sport but, instead, reinforce that if a rider or director commits an infraction they have to adopt a code of silence and resort to ongoing deception—a policy of punishment that doesn't promote reform. Some think that zero tolerance also makes those caught less likely to speak about others involved. From schools that suspend students for inadvertently carrying an aspirin to class, to 3-Strikes-and-You're-Out, zero tolerance has been shown to be ineffective in achieving meaningful change.

Whit Yost: Tour of Flanders Course Changes
When it was announced that changes to the Tour of Flanders route meant the omission of the Muur van Geraardsbergen, thousands if not millions of Flemish cycling fans raised their voices in disapproval. The new course was promised to be just as exciting with three finishing circuits that would bring the riders over the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg three times in succession, offering fans (and VIPs) more chances to the see their favorite riders. In the end, the race produced the desired outcome, with Tom Boonen outsprinting Filippo Pozzato and Alessandro Ballan to take his third Flanders victory. But rumors have already started to circulate that organizers are planning to fence-off access to the circuits and charge admission to any fans wanting a front-row seat. It’s one thing to change the course of a race to make it better and more exciting; it’s another thing entirely to treat it as an opportunity to gouge the fans.

Now that we’ve shared our awards, feel free to submit your own in the comments below.